Pushkin Summer Institute

Pushkin Summer Institute students, 2016

Launched in 2012, the Pushkin Summer Institute (PSI) at UW-Madison is an intensive, six-week pre-college program for outstanding high school students from under-represented communities. The goals of the project are: to build and improve students’ Russian language abilities; to build critical thinking, reading, and writing skills; to stimulate student interest in Russia and Russian studies; to prepare students for the demands of college life; and to expose students to the opportunities UW-Madison and the Madison community have to offer.

Students take courses in Russian language, literature, and culture and participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities, while living in a dormitory with Russian-speaking residential counselors. Former PSI students also have the opportunity to participate in the new PSI-Abroad program, supported by the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). PSI-Abroad sends students to study Russian for six weeks in Daugavpils, Latvia, a multicultural city known for its large Russian-speaking population. Students who complete the PSI programs will be able to enter college-level Russian courses at an advanced level.